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We've had a bit of a crazy couple of weeks here in the Luke household (childcare crisis swiftly followed by trip away, and now we've all come down with colds).
In the midst of it all, though, I had a brilliant time on my writing retreat last Saturday and wrote 5,300 words of my novel: enough that I'm now through the
sticky middle (cue much rejoicing) and running hard towards the climax.
As you might have noticed, this week's blog post and newsletter are both about blogging. Even if you don't have a blog of your own, you might well find yourself writing guest posts or similar to promote your books or your writing services, so I hope this will be helpful for you.
Also, whether you're a new blogger, a "thinking about it" nearly blogger, or an old hand, you
might want to check out my Blogger's Guide ebooks. All four are half price from now until the end of March. (More about that a little further down this email).
As always, don't forget to check out the Aliventures blog too. This week's
post went up on Monday:
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Titling Your Blog Posts: Five Key Rules of Thumb |
Arguably, the most important part of any work you produce is the title: a great title will hook readers' interest and get them to look further, whether you've written a novel, a non-fiction book, a poem, or ... a blog post.
Most
people reading blogs have plenty of competing distractions (other blogs, social media, offline life...!) so it's particularly critical that your title grabs their attention.
This doesn't mean getting gimmicky or hypey ("You'll never believe what this dad did...") Good titles are useful to the reader.
Let me give you two possible titles for the same post: - Writing Blog Posts
- Ten Simple Steps to Writing Better
Blog Posts – Today
Which of those would you want to read? The second is engaging and specific: you have a good sense of what to expect without reading any further.
Here are five key rules of thumb for creating great blog post titles:
#1: Think "Title" not "Topic"
It's fine to just have a topic (like "writing blog posts") when you're coming up with ideas, but aim to have at
least a working title before you start writing. You'll find that a good title often gives you the structure for the whole post.
#2: Use Numbers, Where Appropriate
This helps let readers know what to expect: a huge in-depth list or a few specific tips? Make sure you actually number the points in the post too, so the reader knows you're delivering on what you promised (numbers also help readers feel orientated within your
post).
#3: Use Adjectives
I came to blogging as a fiction writer, and found this tricky – in fiction, adjectives need to be used sparingly. In blog post titles, though, they can create an additional draw – and help set the tone. "Ten Simple Tips" promises something beginner-friendly; "Ten Advanced Tips" promises something in-depth that readers don't already know; "Ten Powerful Tips" promises something that'll make a real
impact.
#4: Don't Over-Sell
Some bloggers get a little carried away with titles. "The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Blog Posts" might get readers' attention ... but they're not going to be thrilled if that post is just a handful of rushed, derivative ideas.
#5: Develop a Consistent Style
Some blogs have a lot of high-drama headlines (Boost Blog Traffic
and Copyblogger have done a fair few of these). Others publish long, thoughtful headlines that match their long, thoughtful posts (A Fine Parent does this). Some have an idiosyncratic, but engaging, style (IttyBiz used to do a lot of this, but has gone a bit more conventional recently). What you do is up to you, but don't just swipe someone else's title template without thinking whether it's a good fit for your blog.
Next time you write a blog post,
spend five minutes – set a timer – coming up with possible titles, or variations on your existing title. Choose the best (if you're not sure, ask a couple of blogger friends to help you) and see if your post gets more attention than usual. |
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Q&A: Blogging in Non-Native Language; Coming up With Original Ideas |
A newsletter reader, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote:
I'm a beginning writer who wants to start blogging for the foreign writers. How do you think you'd go about it if you were just
starting out? And when I look out there, it seems all topics has been covered in great detail, so that there's nothing left for me to guest post about. I'm sure you know guest posting is the key to garnering momentum for a blog, so how do you advice I start when I'm just beginning and has little knowledge about the art of writing?
There are a couple of issues here, and I'll try to
address both briefly: writing in a non-native language, and coming up with original ideas.
I'm in the undeniably privileged position of being a native English speaker writing and blogging in English. If you don't have English as your first language, then you've got a couple of choices:
- Write in your native language, whatever that is, and build a local audience
- Write in English for a mass, worldwide audience
Either
of these could work, but here, obviously, I'm addressing the second option.
I know several successful bloggers who write in English, but who learnt it as a second language: good examples are Daniel Scocco from Daily Blog Tips (he is Italian and lives in Brazil) and Raspal Seni from Raspal Writes, who is Indian (and a reader of this very newsletter). :-)
Both Daniel and Raspel write excellent English – and I think if you are going to succeed in blogging in a non-native language, you need to do everything you can to write it as well as possible.
That could
mean: - Taking a course or class in English
- Asking for feedback from a native English speaker
- Paying to have several blog posts thoroughly edited by a native English speaker
- Asking for feedback from your readers about any awkward phrasings
It's also important to: - Get a strong handle on non-language specific issues, like blog post structure – you can potentially outdo native speakers here.
- Have really good
content – I've read guest posts on major blogs, like ProBlogger, from non-native English bloggers who have in-depth knowledge of, say, SEO.
This brings me on to ideas. Now, I agree that pretty much any given topic has already been covered in detail online – but this doesn't mean there's nothing left to guest post about. You could consider: - Drilling down into specific aspects of a topic that's been covered quite briefly.
- Covering a topic
that's appeared on other blogs, but not on the one you want to post for.
- Bringing together a bunch of different resources on a particular topic (linking to each, and adding your own thoughts).
- Tackling a topic in a fresh way (e.g. with humour, or by drawing an interesting comparison).
Keep in mind, too, that even if a blog has run a similar post two or three years ago, they might well be happy to take your post too, as readers may
well have forgotten (or never seen) the earlier one.
Best of luck – as I say, I'm aware I'm really lucky to be a native English speaker blogging in English, and I have a huge amount of admiration for anyone blogging in a second language.
Do you have a question you'd like me to answer? Just reply to this email to send it straight to me. Let me know whether I can use your first name with the question, or whether you'd prefer
to be anonymous. |
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Blogger's Guides Half-Price During March The Blogger's Guide series consists of, so far: - The Blogger's Guide to Effective Writing
- The Blogger's Guide to Freelancing
- The Blogger's Guide to Irresistible Ebooks
- The Blogger's Guide to Loyal Readers
Long-time readers of the Aliventures newsletter (or blog) might remember that I
took my Blogger's Guides off the market at the very end of 2014, just before my little boy (Nick) was born.
This was partly so I could enjoy a few months of maternity leave without worrying about customer support, but also due to some complicated new VAT (Value-Added Tax) regulations in the European Union.
Happily, I've now sorted things out so I can easily comply with these regulations, and the Guides are back on the
market.
To celebrate, they're half-price all through March, at $14.50 per Guide (instead of $29) and $33 for all four (instead of $66).
And, even better, since you're getting this newsletter ... the coupon code alinewsletter will give you an additional 35% discount on whatever you buy.
(I'd appreciate it if you don't share code that on social media: if you've got a friend
who'd be interested, please forward this newsletter to them instead.)
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Next week, I'll be giving you a super quick and easy way to improve almost everything you write.
Till then, happy writing,
Ali
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